


Dear to Fancy

by ERNest



Category: Hamlet - Shakespeare
Genre: Courtly Flirtation, Drabble Sequence, Failure to Communicate, Hookups that maybe aren't as casual as intended, M/M, Pre-Canon, poor hamlet, poor osric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26287411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERNest/pseuds/ERNest
Summary: Osric is almost bitter about something that was almost sweet. Not that there's anything toget over.
Relationships: Hamlet/Osric
Kudos: 3





	Dear to Fancy

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Tune of the Time](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26275450) by [kylee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylee/pseuds/kylee). 



Of course Osric knows what Hamlet thinks of him; he’s not nearly as stupid as everyone assumes he is and the prince doesn’t exactly make a secret of his contempt. But what of that? He’s not in this… whatever they have… to be respected, and if they’re both using each other for entertainment or to get their rocks off or something, then who gets hurt by it? Sure, it would have been nice if Hamlet had spent even half a second considering he might be worthy of consideration, but Osric wants plenty of things he knows better than to expect.

Hamlet just can’t drop the act, even when they’re holding each other in bed. He’s always got to tease, got to make a mockery of something almost nice. “My sweet,” he calls Osric in that cloying voice of his, playing it up for an audience that isn’t even there, and Osric flushes with the humiliating reminder that this was only ever play for the prince. Still, sometimes Hamlet shuts up for once in his life, rests against his chest and hums and Osric must be as foolish as people think because he tricks himself into thinking it means he’s adored.

So Osric gets over it — gets over Hamlet, gets over himself. It’s easy enough because there’s nothing really there to get over, there never was. He’s not going to miss the ambiguity in their interactions, but he might miss the ambiguity of their wordplay. But verbal sparring isn’t worth it just for a kid who’s just never going to be serious about anything and wouldn’t know how to begin. Osric can find somewhere else to have a good time and in the meantime he’ll avoid Hamlet’s smugly self-deprecating laughter. It might have been easier if it were a breakup.

To his unending frustration Osric keeps — not hoping, exactly, but wondering — how it would be if Hamlet sought him out and asked to have Osric back. Or if he begged for it; it would be nice to see _him_ begging for once.

Idly, annoyingly, he rehearses what he would say in response, how he would sugar over his words, compliment the prince, and finally flounce away. Sometimes he even watches Hamlet chatting animatedly about astronomy and thinks that if he asked right now the answer would be yes.

But it’s silly to consider when they never had each other, really.

It’s become painfully, unavoidably obvious that Hamlet isn’t going to get out of his head on his own. So Osric fills himself with other things — with flings and dalliances, favors and prettiness. He makes a point, now, to make sure that he and his partner are both having a good time and that they both know how long to expect this to last, the suppliance of a minute, no more.

It would be fruitless to avoid the places in this castle which remind him of Hamlet when they’ve managed to get pretty much everywhere, so he builds new memories instead.


End file.
